Resetting Boredom
I have been bored a lot lately. Due to the weather and being sick, I have been forced to stay inside my house over the past two weeks or so, and I am running out of things to do….
It’s time for a RESET!
ADHD and Boredom
Those with ADHD need to be stimulated. The lack of dopamine in our systems means we frequently do battle with the boredom monster. There is a need to do something. The ADHD brain is repulsed by doing nothing. This results in an inner restlessness during inactivity leading to boredom, and the high occurrence of boredom in people with ADHD leads to some bizarre behavior. For example, when listening to music on the radio or on one’s phone, most people who do not have ADHD listen to a song from beginning to end, but it is not uncommon for an ADHDer to move on to the next song before the song is even halfway done. Boredom in those with ADHD can also lead to the ADHDer frequently changing jobs. Those are just two examples of unusual behavior. If you check with someone with ADHD or someone who knows someone with ADHD, you will probably find more examples of bizarre, boredom-fighting behavior. If you know someone with ADHD, you might already know what I mean.
The Who and the Why of Boredom
If you have ADHD, you will do battle with the boredom monster. That is part (but not all) of who you are. Instead of fighting boredom, it might behoove you to embrace boredom. That might sound terrifying, especially when boredom can be so intense with ADHD. However, fighting something only makes it worse. By embracing it, you can come to see it as an opportunity.
Start by asking why. Why are you so bored? What is going on that is making you feel this way. Get curious about what is happening to you. This will help you tap into a strength that will help relieve the boredom.
Creativity, an ADHD Strength
People with ADHD are some of the most creative individuals on this planet. It is quite common for an ADHDer to be extremely creative. Instead of seeing your boredom as a burden, try viewing it as an opportunity to be creative. By rebranding boredom as an opportunity, you take away its burden. It is now something that can be enjoyed.
As an example of this, let’s take my recent battle with boredom. I decided that, because I have been so bored lately, I need something to occupy my mind. I figured the best way of occupying my brain was to give it a new creative project. I decided to come up with a new scenario for a role-playing game I play with my friends called Dread. I get to come up with a story for my friends to roleplay their way through, and in doing so, I must build a world of surprises for them. This game takes weeks of planning to make happen, so I have plenty of time to entice friends to play and to come up with ways of making them squirm (Dread is a suspense-based RPG). This really excites my brain. Now, when I get bored, I can go to the world of Dread I am building and play around with ideas there. By immersing myself in the world of ideas, I can escape a world where nothing is happening and occupy my mind. In doing so, I feed my brain with dopamine. Every time I think of a new twist for the game, BOOM, another shot of dopamine.
What opportunities will you find in your experience with boredom?